City steps up fight against amphetamine-type stimulants

HCM CITY — HCM City People’s Committee has instructed departments and other agencies to take measures to reduce the recreational use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) among local residents.

Since 2010, ATS has been the second-most widely used recreational drug in Việt Nam after heroin, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

City police have been urged to find illegal ATS traffickers and fine violators, while the Health Department has been told to provide training to healthcare staff on the treatment of mental disorders caused by ATS.

Other departments and agencies will be required to focus on education and assistance for addicts in an effort to change their behavior.

At a recent policy dialogue on drug use held last month in HCM City, Trần Ngọc Du, head of the city’s Social Evils Prevention Agency under the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the city had seen an increase in the number of addicts using ATS.

Of more than 22,000 addicts at rehabilitation establishments, nearly 70 per cent have used ATS, and the number is expected to increase, according to Du.

Addicts using ATS have psychological disorders that can affect social order and safety.

Du suggested that the Ministry of Health should co-operate with agencies on researching the proper kinds of treatment for ATS addiction. The ministry has issued a circular to provide guidance to treat mental disorders caused by ATS.

HCM City People’s Committee said it would begin receiving addicts from Bình Dương Province for compulsory treatment and education at the city’s rehabilitation establishments after the provincial People’s Court makes decisions on individual cases.

The city aims to receive 250 addicts from Bình Dương Province for treatment each year by 2020. —VNS